Yellowknife (Oct 27/06) - To better prepare themselves for future leadership roles in the military, officers enroled at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto are touring the North. This week, 110 students visited Yellowknife.

"We're here to learn about how the North works - to see the strategic aspects, the system of government and to understand Northern culture," said Capt. Tom Tulloch, director of the college's Joint Command and Staff program.

The field trip north of 60 is the first of three excursions designed to expose the best and brightest within the Canadian Forces to challenges they could encounter.

When asked what challenges Tulloch and his students in the program could foresee after visiting Inuvik, Resolute Bay and Yellowknife, transportation issues stood out.

"That's what is hitting home, I think," said Tulloch. "What it takes to get around when there aren't roads, the whole idea of ice roads and access to resource rich parts of the North."

Tulloch most recently commanded the HMCS Calgary, a frigate based in Victoria BC. He was also at the helm of the HMCS Charlottetown while it enforced UN sanctions against Iraq in the Persian Gulf. The vessel later offered support to military actions against the Taleban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan following 9/11.

Iqaluit is the next stop for Tulloch and his students - made up of middle-ranking officers from the CF, NATO allies and soldiers from the Pakistani and United Arab Emirate forces.